


Curiosity Killed the Cat

by TheRoseDuelist



Series: The Apprentice Reversed [6]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: #SavePortia, Action/Adventure, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Implied Sexual Content, Tragedy, Treasure Hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23556532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRoseDuelist/pseuds/TheRoseDuelist
Summary: Not every treasure is meant to be found.
Relationships: Apprentice/Portia Devorak, Portia Devorak/Nadia, Portia Devorak/Reader
Series: The Apprentice Reversed [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567798
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	Curiosity Killed the Cat

She has caught the adventure bug. Since Tasya — whom she is still mourning and won’t discuss — all Portia wants to do is find and undertake exciting adventures. You’re happy to humor her.

Why?

Because you love her.

She hears about an unexplored cavern at the base of the Bulan Mountains, just where they hit the Emerald Sea. The two of you take camels and four days of supplies to check it out. It’s an arduous trek that takes you down into the earth, farther than you anticipate. Farther than any explorer has traveled, which of course, thrills Portia. You have to leave the camels at the entrance and take packs in order to continue the journey. After a day and a half of trudging through mud and who-knows-what, you find what Portia wants: a treasure chest full of jewels, coins, and...an armlet carved into the shape of a snake.

When you return to Vesuvia, Portia presents it to Nadia. She claims it belongs to Nadia’s ancestors. You smile as Portia offers it to the Countess, who lights up and praises Portia for her thoughtfulness and fearlessness. You watch as Portia thanks Nadia for her kind words, her eyes sparkling with delight. There is an unpleasant churn in your gut observing the exchange, but you say nothing.

Next, Portia follows the tale of hidden treasure buried between Nopal and Karnossos. You spend two weeks scouring the area, your rations running thin. You think at one point you will run out of water and you’re nervous because you’re already hallucinating since you’re rationing yourself so Portia will have enough (not that she knows that; you want to put her first). But she manages to finally find the temple. Luckily there is a mountain spring within it so you replenish your bodily needs and the hallucinations disappear. With the temple’s discovery, Portia is euphoric and she persuades you to make love on the floor of the temple. Granted, you mention it’s probably sacrilege but she doesn’t seem to think anything of it. 

Days later after a successful investigation of the temple, you return to Vesuvia with a pile of treasure in your camel bags, selling some to the local merchants, donating some to the Vesuvian historical society, and lastly dividing the rest amongst yourselves and your friends.

Only a few days later does Portia get a whiff of a story about some mysterious treasure encased in an ivory tower. She convinces you to join her investigation, and after extensive research, you believe that the tower exists somewhere in the Scourgelands, close to the frozen sea. You know that much of that area is unexplored. Which means your target could be out there, but other monsters could be as well. 

You grimace at that. 

Danger is not something you wish to find yourself in especially after your dealings with the Devil. The prior two expeditions were riddled with their own problems, but the prospect of fighting monsters is a new dimension of risk. And not one you are particularly interested in engaging with.

You mention it to Portia but she remains undeterred. She’s sure that you two will be fine. It slightly annoys you because she relies too heavily on your magic as she’s still training to use and control her own. Yes, you’ll most certainly be able to protect you both from some creatures, but others? Like a dragon? Or other large, mythical beast? You’d be lost. 

That doesn’t seem to bother Portia. 

You saddle your camels and leave Vesuvia, your heart thudding in your chest, uncertain if this venture is a good idea. Two weeks later you arrive at the spot. There is nothing to be seen: just barren land. The silence itself is eery and a shiver crawls up and down your spine, like an unseen ghost caressing your back. 

You don’t like it here.

You separate and wander around the area, searching for any clue that will indicate where you can find the tower. You decide to head into the woods away from the plain. After pushing through the dense foliage, you come upon a small valley, where a stone tablet rests on an obsidian altar. 

There’s something about it that doesn’t feel right to you. But Portia forges ahead, grabbing your hand and tugging you down the hill. You study the tablet and the words scrawled on its weather-beaten stone. The writing is in an ancient language. Luckily Asra taught it to you so you spend time translating. It’s a long process. It’s not exactly like you’re fluent. And the two of you make camp so you can spend the rest of the night working.

In the morning, you have finally deciphered the text and follow the obscure directions, deeper into the woods. 

There are twists and turns. You travel farther away from the plains, deeper amongst the pines and the tallest trees. The canopy becomes dense, and you lose sight of the sun. It’s almost as if you’ve stepped into another world.

Each step you take is chock-full of nerves and adrenaline. On your guard, waiting for something to jump out at you. Take you by surprise.

Nothing does.

“There it is!” Portia cries out, delighted.

Carved into the side of the mountain is a large doorway. As you near it, you can smell it. Taste it.

Magic.

It coats every surface, every molecule of air. You feel it settle on your clothes, dripping like molasses. Like oil that will seep into your cells and deposit there, never escaping your body. The only other time you’ve felt this strength of magic in the atmosphere is when you entered the realm of the Arcana.

“Be on your guard, Portia.” You warn.

She glances at you, curious, but nods in assent. It calms you.

A little anyways.

You put your hand up and ease the door open with your magic. Cautiously, you stare into the darkness beyond the door. A hand grabs yours and you turn to see Portia give you an encouraging smile. You nod and the two of you enter. 

For a moment, you cannot see anything. Blackness. But soon it gives way to an everchanging gradient. The undulating colors of the rainbow playing out before your eyes. You squeeze Portia’s hand and she squeezes back. At least you’re still together. It gives you a little bit of courage.

You step forward, and the rainbow yields to a stone hallway. Whatever barrier that you just passed through, you have reached the tower.

“Come on!” Portia pulls you forward and around the corner. She laughs as you race down the corridor, the sounds of your footfalls echoing off the walls. At the end of the hall, you see a set of double doors. She calls upon her magic and pulls them open.

“Oh wow…”

Tapestries spun from silk adorn the walls. Three long tables made from dark cherry wood span the length of the hall, the chairs surrounding them carved with intricate designs. Rugs spun from the finest yarn inlaid with jewels sparkle as you step around them. 

It’s a display of wealth for certain. If you wanted to, taking jewels from the carpet alone would meet your financial needs for the next year at the very least, but that isn’t what you’re here for. You know that Portia cares little for the riches. What she wants is to see the unexplored. Witness new lands. Meet new people. Be the star of her own adventure.

So you spend the next few days wandering through empty rooms and deciphering passages etched on walls to try and understand who inhabited the tower before. And what the mystery treasure is. And most of all, where it is kept. 

After Portia snoops out a secret passage — as is her special power — the two of you come upon what appears to be a chapel of some kind. And in the center of this tiny room with no windows, tucked away from the rest of the tower, is a large chest.

It doesn’t escape your notice that there are upside-down crosses mounted on the walls, their black wood casting permanent shadows on the floor.

It takes some effort, but the two of you are able to force the old thing open with a creak that sounds like nails on a chalkboard and makes you wince.

Trinkets, a golden sword, bags of coins...the two of you sift through the pile of items, looking to see if there is anything unique in the collection.

Portia pauses in her quest. You look over your shoulder to see her holding some sort of storage tube. She pops off the cork and shakes it out into her outstretched palm. A large piece of canvas falls out. Unceremoniously, she drops the tube — you roll your eyes and pick it up — and she unravels it. Her eyes go wide and she squeals. You slide next to her to see what she has found.

A treasure map.

Of course.

Not that you haven’t already been on a quest. You’re on one now. And yet that doesn’t deter her. She wants to pursue it. Like an addict. Forget whatever treasure may lay in the tower and follow the map. She’s talking a mile a minute at you, her pupils dilated as she theorizes what the treasure is and where you might be able to find it. 

The thrill for her is intoxicating. You know it’s not just to satiate her lust for adventure, but also to avoid her pain. It’s only a matter of time until she has to confront it. 

Currently, you know that you are indulging her until she’s ready to talk because that is what you do for someone you love. Give them space until they are ready to process trauma. However, following a treasure map with no context? That is stretching the limits of your patience. You decide to tell her that in the morning.

What you don’t expect is to be shaken awake the next morning. Blearily you open your eyes to see Portia peering down at you with a sparkle in her blue irises.

“Y/N! The path is here! From the map!” Portia exclaims, her voice ringing out like a bell.

And then she’s off.

Chewing on the inside of your cheek, you roll onto your side and push yourself to your knees. You don’t know how she knows this. You’re certain that you both went to bed at the same time. Or maybe she appeared to go to sleep with you and then stayed up all night studying the map. You wouldn’t put it past her at this point.

Annoyed, you jog to where she is. Eagerly, she points out the window of the tower at what looks like...a crypt.

As if this couldn’t get any worse.

“I thought we were staying away from the dark.” You mutter, putting your hands on your hips.

“Oh come on, Y/N. It’ll be fun!” Portia winks at you and bumps your hip with hers.

It’s hard to resist her cheerfulness, even if you don’t feel it yourself. After you pack your things, you make your way out of the tower, crossing over the invisible inter-dimensional borders, and back into the forest. 

She dashes ahead of you, her laughter playing a melody in the air. You sigh, forcing yourself to keep up with her. Panting you manage to meet her at the crypt’s entrance. You’re surprised it’s even there. You hadn’t any idea if the crypt was only present in the tower’s dimension or if it was in yours as well. You figure that perhaps the tower is on the same plane though not in your dimension. You could explain it but words fail you. Portia doesn’t really seem to care anyway.

“Ready?” She glances at you, ready to go.

“Sure.”

Portia’s shoulders slump. “If you don’t want to go, we won’t.” Portia purses her lips. “I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to.”

Sucking in your cheeks, you look away. You hate disappointing her. It twists your stomach into knots. But the constant questing is making you tired. You need a rest.

Determined, you face her but the words die on your mouth. You can see she’s struggling to keep a straight face, but already her distress is bleeding through. Her sorrow. The grief that haunts her.

You shudder inside. You can’t do it.

“Let’s go.”

“Really?!” She gasps, her eyes watering in gratitude.

Your own heart swells and she plants a kiss on your lips. You can feel your body sway as she presses against you. There’s something so pure about the kiss it makes you melt. You’ll do anything for her, anything to keep her smiling.

After a moment, she finally pulls away. “I promise we’ll do a lot more of that once we’re done here.” She winks.

You flush and wave her towards the crypt.

You follow her down as she descends the stairs, calling upon a flame to guide you as the darkness begins to engulf the two of you. You murmur to yourself there is nothing to be afraid of. All there exists is stone and dirt. 

And of course...the dead.

Portia squeezes your hand. “I’ll protect you, Y/N. Don’t worry.” 

It’s not that you doubt her. You know that you can trust Portia. You trust her with your life. You just don’t trust your surroundings. The tower has already given you feelings of foreboding. Where is this map leading you too? You don’t know and that...it sends a chill down the back of your neck.

Finally the crypt floor levels out. But the pit in your stomach doesn’t disappear. Instead, it grows with each step you take. You feel it. There is something in the air. Something ancient. Something old. Something that doesn’t want you here. 

“Portia, we need to leave.” You take her wrist and pull her towards you.

“Why?”

“I think there’s something here.”

She looks around, clearly skeptical. “I don’t think anyone has been down here in hundreds of years.”

You shake your head. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t something here.”

“Let’s just go a little farther and if you still feel this way, we’ll turn back. I just gotta satisfy my curiosity. Okay?” She rakes her auburn hair out of her face, the firelight wavering with the slight movement.

Reluctantly you agree. You’re not worried something keeping you out. You’re worried about something keeping you in.

Minutes pass and turn in an hour and eventually you happen upon a large room carved out of the cave. It’s bare save for an altar in the center. You surmise it’s some type of ceremonial room. You and Portia split, each examining the opposite sides of the room to see if there are any secrets to be uncovered.

“There’s nothing here,” she complains as you meet back in the middle.

“I guess the treasure map didn’t really have anything to lead us too.” You shrug. Honestly, you’re relieved. Now you can leave the crypt and depart from the area entirely. You’re already thinking about being back in your bed at the shop in Vesuvia, far from this dangerous place.

“I really thought it was going to be something good…” Portia sighs.

“Well, if we start now, we can probably be out of here by nightfall—”

“Hey, Y/N. There’s an inscription here!” Portia claps her hands together. You look to see that she’s wandered away from you to the altar. “Under the earth, and in the dark, you dwell in silence.” 

You round towards her, where she reads an inscription off of the granite altar. “Portia, wait a second.”

But she soldiers on. “Come forth to our call, come forth to our voice. We will bring you strength. We will bring you power. We offer you life for—”

“GET OUT!” You look up to see the shade of a ghost screaming at you. Her face is screwed up in anger and anguish, her features distorted. “STOP!”

“—death.” Portia finishes. Her eyes widen when she sees the ghost. She looks to you, frightened. “Y/N?”

The room shakes. Dust and bits of rock fall from the ceiling, covering the tops of your heads. 

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” The shade shrieks and flies at you.

You cringe and shrink back as she passes through your body. You stiffen, cold, her anger freezing you in place.

The flame you hold in your hand dies and you’re plunged into darkness.

“Wait... let’s just talk this—” Portia calls out.

Something sharp slices through you. Pain erupts throughout your body.

You scream.

“Y/N!?”

An orange light bursts to life from the black. Portia holds the orb and looks at you, her face screwed up in terror.

You look down. A talon protrudes from above your right hip. Blood pours, profusely from the wound, staining your garments. It’s wet against your skin. 

A throbbing pulsates from your hip. Everything hurts. You stumble backward.

Portia gasps.

There is a movement behind her.

“Portia!” you holler, pointing.

Portia spins around just in time to see the swipe of a claw coming for her. She dives out of the way just in time.

You drop to your knees, your hands pressing against your wound. Pain vibrates through you. Your body is on fire. Your jaw clenches and your teeth chatter against one another. You can feel the warm blood pool across your palms. Your heartbeat pounds in your ears. 

“Y/N hold on!” Portia screams.

Your eyes lock onto her form, as she evades the beast’s tail, swiping at her. Trying to catch and kill its prey. She throws a bolt of energy at it, but it dodges. 

It’s too dark for you to see what the monster looks like but you know it’s big. You can feel its magic sizzling the air currents around you. Its predatory nature suffocating you. 

She leaps back from the creature and punches its paw. It lands and it screeches, rearing up and backing away.

CLICK.

Your eyes widen as the walls of the cavern shift and light up with purple and indigo magic. Hundreds of bones spill out into the room. Human bones.

And the beast roars.

Magic explodes into the air. Tornados rip through, spinning bones to collect in small piles, forming human skeletons. The tornados evaporate, and the skeletons struggle onto their two feet.

“Y/N?” Portia squeaks.

You gaze at your wound and remove your hand. Blood flows freely. 

There is no way you are getting out of this alive. Whatever this creature is, and now with its skeleton minions, it’s too much for you two to fight on your own. 

Closing your eyes, you rally your energy, the spell painting itself in your mind before the words reach your tongue. You begin to chant, moving your hands in a circular motion, weaving together the strands of your reality into a portal.

“Y/N!” Your eyes open to see Portia run to your side and crouch in a defensive position. But you do not break your concentration. You continue chanting, your voice getting louder though with each syllable pain rips through your body.

A team of five skeleton soldiers charges towards you both.

“Not on my watch!” Portia shouts and dives into battle.

You push with all your might, forcing the magic to rip open space and time. You think of Vesuiva, the spires of the palace, the peace of the city, the warmth of your friends.

And the portal appears, Vesuvia on the other side, just as you pictured it.

“Run, Portia!” You cry out.

But she can’t, her attention on the two skeleton soldiers coming right at her. You see her brow furrowed in determination, ready to face down the danger.

Tears stream down your cheeks. She’s not strong enough no matter how much she wishes to keep this evil at bay. She hasn’t had enough training and with your wound…

You can’t let her die. You won’t let her die. Splitting your magic, you strain to keep the portal open and blast a skeleton heading for Portia. It flies backward and crumbles to dust while Portia destroys the other with a powerful magical punch.

You gulp and point at the portal. “GO!”

Portia rushes towards it. Then she looks at you and shakes her head. “I won’t leave you.”

“If you don’t go, you won’t survive!”

“No! I’m not leaving you, Y/N!” She yells, tears falling freely down her rosy cheeks. 

Your heart breaks. You can’t believe how loyal she is, right to the end. You would go anywhere for her and she would go anywhere for you. Lovers until the end.

But it’s not the end. At least, not for her.

You can feel yourself swaying, losing grip on the portal. You groan as you weave your magic, wrapping it around Portia like a chain.

“Y/N? What are you doing?”

You don’t answer. You drag her towards the portal.

“Stop! Stop! I’m not leaving you! I’m not leaving you!”

Your cells burn and you want to scream. From the corners of your eyes, you can see the beast and its minions stalking towards you. 

You look at Portia, your vision blurring. “I love you, Portia.”

Now she’s crying. “Y/N, no. Don’t—”

And you throw her through the portal. She disappears and you collapse to the ground, the portal closing, dousing you in darkness.

Your mind is overwhelmed by the pain and you begin to feel lightheaded from the blood loss. You can feel the creature moving in on you, its hot breath on your skin, the clicks of its language echoing in your ears. 

You knew it was coming, this death. The risks of adventuring were bound to catch up to you sooner or later. And now they have.

But Portia is safe. That is enough for you because you love her.

Though there is a bitterness when her name crosses your mind in these last moments. She had been crying, calling to you. Desperate. You know that she will be haunted by the memory of falling through the portal, her last moment with you one that sealed your death. You don’t care if that memory causes her pain. You saved her. She’ll be alright in the long run.

You wouldn’t even be here if it were for her. You’re only here because you love her. Because you wanted to accompany her, keep her safe, and entertain her need for excitement. To help her grieve for her aunt in her own way. 

And now you will die. You will die in this hole in the earth, alone and afraid.

The tip of a fang touches your shoulder and you close your eyes. 

The time has come to play your part. You will die and she will live. You are her sacrifice.


End file.
